Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-11-25
FARM TOPICS.


w w i''Oi thaH tHcJ WIN w WI Va az
the Spring.
SWEET POTATOES FOR HOGS.
To us at the North it may seem
strange to grow sweet potatoes for
hogs, but it Is sometimes successfully
done by Southern farmers. OF course
the pigs do the digging. The sweet
potato is more palatable and nutritious
than our common variety, and il.
sweetness makes it especially adapted
for feeding faltcning hogs.
BRAN FOR MANURE.
Some farmers say they can afford
TO Use bran at $50 ton or one cent a
pound. Tbs must depend on the price
Of the crop. 1t would scarcely pay
with wheat at sevcnly-6ye cents bu-
shcl Of sixty pounds. But bran may
be proftably fell to make manure for
special crops wh'ch may pay much bet
ter profits than wheat.
CLEANING POTATOES FROM DIRT.
When potatoes are dug in wet time
more or les, soll W Il adhere to them.
To remove this when unloading the POI
tatoeS roll them down arack of Stats set
lenghwise. and far enough apart so
that the potatoes vi not fall through.
In rolling over on this Stat most of the
dirt W Il be knocked of and fall to the
ground beneath.
wINDFALL APPLES.
Bruised apples soon decay and there
are few windfalls that are not some
what bruised. A very few of these in
barrel WI spoil the whole before
W inter is over. They are tit only for
immediate use, and for this there is
often much waste as the bruised spot
is discolored and must bee cut out be-
fore eating or cooking. In most cases
the windfalls are also worm eaten,
which causes their premature ripenng.
BUYING SURPLUS POULTRY.
At tbs season most poultry breeders
close OF the surplus stock accumulated
during the summer, and which they
cannot afford to Winter Rarely can
the best fowls be bought, but thorough
breds can be- had more cheaply than at
any other season. 1t is best for farm
ers who have a lot of run-out mongreI5
10 close them out now and stock up
with the best obtainabe. If they get
fewer fowls they will cost less food and
shelter in Winter, and next season the
number may be increased indefinitely.
SETTING CURRANT CUTTINGS.
If 81 ps Of currant wood of this seas
on's growth are cut off new at its
junction with the old, and planted in a
sheltered place. they VIII callous over
this Fall and be ready to root freely by
the time the leaves start in the Spring.
In October in dry soil the temperature
is fully Is warm, if not warncr than
the outside air. Tbs is the condition
best fitted for rooted cuttings. When
cult ngs are not prepared and set until
Spring this condition Is reversed. The
ar then is always warmer than the
so J, and remains so until midsummer
or later.
Is CORN EXHAUSTIVE?
Continued cropping with corn keeps
the surface soil bare through the Win
ter and exposed to washing By rain,
and melting SHOWS. This OF course,
eXhausts lis vegetable matter and
makes it les, fertile. But the corn it.
self does not take a great amount OF
fertility from the land. Its carbon is
ma My if not entirely derived from the
ar through its broad leaves. Corn is
less helped by IN neral manures than
other grains or grass. heterogeneous
fertilizers stimulate rapid growth early,
bat this is partly due to the warmth
they give by stimulating fermentation
in the soil.
MANURTRc PEAR TREES.
The liability of pear trees to bl ght :
much dependent on the application Of
manures. Too heavy manuring in the
growing season is frequent cause Of
disease. Seeing this, some farm rs Mt
terly neglect their trees, letting them
IlOW III 81 ass, thinning luuS 10 save
them. THIS is the other extreme, and
after two or three years of fair to poor
crops, the trees, weakened by starva-
ton, fall an easy prey to disease. Ex-
pcrienced pear growers recommend
applying manure the latter part of
Summer. or in the Fall, on the surface
under the trees. 1t is too late then for
it TO stimulate growth the same season,
and by Spring the manure will be so
well incorporated in the so | that the
tree will not be forced into unnatural
growth by contact with it. The only
caution needed in Fall manuring pear
trees is not to leave coarse manure
near young trees where it may be
harbor for mice during Winter.
FATTENYSG YOUNG BREEDING sows.
Unless special care is taken sows that
dropped their first litter last Spring
will SO fattcn as to make them unde-
: rable for breeding This il the more